Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

One of the organizers of this week's anti-capitalism protests in the District distanced his group yesterday from a Web site promoting a scoring system for violent demonstrators 300 points for breaking a McDonald's window, 75 points for puncturing a police car's tire and 400 points for throwing a pie in the face of a corporate executive or World Bank delegate.Anti-Capitalist Convergence spokesman Zane El-Amine said yesterday that none of the groups he is working with is affiliated with www.infoshop.org, a site run by an anarchist named Chuck, who has withheld his last name in interviews.The Web site promotes an "anarchist scavenger hunt" that awards points for vandalizing stores, destroying police property and assaulting officials.Chuck, the 37-year-old creator of the site, said his scavenger hunt was meant as a joke.The humor was lost on U.S. Capitol Police Chief Terrance Gainor, who told a congressional panel on Friday that law authorities were in talks to decide whether planned protesters were "so deleterious to security efforts that we ought to take proactive action."The protests are expected to build to the weekend, when several thousand people are expected to demonstrate outside the International Monetary Fund and World Bank headquarters.But protesters are already in town for training and planning. One group, Mobilization for Global Justice, will hold demonstrations at the IMF headquarters on 19th and K streets NW at 5 p.m. today.The group, which is coordinating activities with the Anti-Capitalist Convergence and the Coalition for Peace Action, plans rallies and teach-ins for the rest of the week and a large march at noon Saturday.District-based Anti-Capitalist Convergence is planning a daylong traffic blockade, banner drops and protests against major corporations in the downtown core on Saturday.Protesters want the IMF to open its meetings, cancel debt owed by poor nations and end support for practices they say are environmentally and socially destructive projects, such as deforestation.Demonstrators are also expected to protest the possibility of war in Iraq along with the IMF and World Bank meetings. On Friday demonstrators will rally around IMF and World Bank headquarters. On Sunday, a march from Dupont Circle to the vice president's residence is planned, Mr. El-Arnine said.He said protesters are not concerned about beefed-up security or the possibility of pre-emptive legal action. "They do that every year," he said. "They try to use scare tactics. We will be out there." Mr. El-Arnine said the three organizations are not connected with www.infoshop.org and are encouraging only peaceful protest.In April 2000, a week of demonstrations against the IMF and World Bank resulted in 1,200 arrests.The 2001 IMF and World Bank meetings were canceled after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Protest groups also canceled street demonstrations last year.